Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina
I think the team could be worse for sure.
Because there is a lot of year to year randomness and having just a couple things go wrong could really send them spinning.
But that's very different from trading good players specifically to improve their pick. That doesn't seem to be the mindset at all.
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Yes, while I do agree that swings can happen season-over-season naturally, I am actually specifically speaking to intent.
Trade Anderson for futures, Vladar walks without being replaced with an experienced goalie, and a few moves like Hanely (who played adequately as a #4) being replaced by younger but inexperienced players.
I think I would say that the goal is to improve the draft position.
If the Flames trade Rasmus for futures, but sign (or trade for) and experienced top 4 defencemen, and grab a guy like Allen or another experienced backup, then I would say improving the pick is NOT the plan.
My point is that we don't know the plan. The only thing we are sure about is the extremes are not options - no 'scorched earth' rebuild designed to maximize the pick for next year, or going the other way and using futures for 'win now' players in an effort to push this team to the playoffs at all costs. Neither of these extremes is likely, but I do believe purposefully improving the pick into a top 5 pick is very possible at this point.
The Flames played on those margins all year long. I also didn't see Wolf stealing games night in and night out - he did very well, but the Flames didn't finish where they did by Wolf stealing every game. The team played extremely hard all-season long, but they played on the very margins. Subtract a couple of pieces, and things can significantly altar - that's the point I am trying to make. My money is that Conroy will purposefully make a few moves to improve the draft position, while NOT outwardly 'tanking' (which is usually referenced as a 'scorched earth' rebuild).
This is my point - too many people are adamantly stating that the Flames will or won't do something, but we don't really know. We WILL have a better ideal a few days after July 1st when the majority of the moves will be concluded.